I. Field
The following description relates generally to communication networks and more particularly to peer-to-peer and/or ad hoc networks.
II. Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication. For example, voice, data, video and so forth can be provided through wireless communication systems. A typical wireless communication system, or network, can provide multiple users access to one or more shared resources. For example, a system may use a variety of multiple access techniques such as Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Code Division Multiplexing (CDM), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), and others.
Wireless communication networks are commonly utilized to communicate information regardless of where a user is located (inside or outside a structure) and whether a user is stationary or moving (e.g., in a vehicle, walking). Generally, wireless communication networks are established through a mobile device communicating with a base station or access point. The access point covers a geographic range or cell and, as the mobile device is operated, the mobile device can be moved in and out of these geographic cells.
A network can also be constructed utilizing solely peer-to-peer devices without utilizing access points or the network can include both access points (infrastructure mode) and peer-to-peer devices. These types of networks are sometimes referred to as ad hoc networks. Ad hoc networks can be self-configuring whereby when a mobile device (or access point) receives communication from another mobile device, the other mobile device is added to the network. As mobile devices leave the area, they are dynamically removed from the network. Thus, the topography of the network can be constantly changing.
In centralized networks (e.g., CDMA IS-95, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), WCDMA, and so forth), a single air interface is utilized. Ad-hoc networks do not have a dedicated infrastructure to control the network, however, it has been typical for ad-hoc networks to be modeled using a single air interface across the network, which is not very efficient.